Community Futures Central Kootenay is seeking to engage a Project Manager on behalf of the Nelson & Area Economic Development Partnership (NAEDP) to establish a Nelson Innovation Centre and invites qualified applicants to submit the requested information as outlined below.

It is the intention of Community Futures Central Kootenay to enter into a 10-month contract with the successful applicant for 20 hours per week ending March 31, 2017 with a possibility for extension subject to funding. The applicant is expected to have the ability to work from an off-site location and provide their own computer, cell phone and vehicle for travel.

The NAEDP is a partnership between the City of Nelson, Community Futures Central Kootenay, the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce and RDCK Areas E and F. The partnership’s goal is to take a unified approach to community economic development initiatives for the city and region.

In 2015, the NAEDP set a strategic goal to grow and strengthen its digital economy and to do so by using the best practices identified by the Intelligent Community Forum. One of the pillars of communities that are competitive in the digital economy is the ability to support an innovation ecosystem. A Strategic Doing workshop was held in February 2016 that invited “thinkers” and “doers” in the community to identify projects to move Nelson towards being recognized as an Intelligent Community. A highly motivated project group emerged with the objective of setting up a Nelson Innovation Centre. The work that followed included:

 research on Innovation Centre best practices;

 project concept development informed by a grassroots volunteer group; and

 a feasibility study which included stakeholder engagement and data analysis to determine the viability of a Nelson Innovation Centre as well as recommendations for next steps based on the project concept.

The feasibility study:

 identified that Nelson has the assets in place for a Nelson Innovation Centre to be successful. These assets include: an entrepreneurial culture, an educated and creative workforce, business and regional industry base, broad community support, physical infrastructure, business development resources and programs and government support;

 narrowed the scope of the project concept;

 recommended that a proof of concept be put in place and tested; and

 recommended that a business plan as well as a five-year financial feasibility assessment be developed to ensure the sustainability of the Nelson Innovation Centre.

Nelson Innovation Centre Project Concept

The Nelson Innovation Centre (NIC) project concept is an entrepreneurship-focused business incubator with a subset focus on the technology sector.

NIC’s goals are to:

 strengthen the community’s position as a regional leader of digital innovation and entrepreneurship;

 other assets as identified to meet client needs and to ensure the sustainability of the NIC.

Project Manager Deliverables

The Nelson Innovation Centre Project Manager will report to the Executive Director of Community Futures Central Kootenay and will be responsible for the successful development and implementation of the Nelson Innovation Centre Proof of Concept, which will include:

 Creating and liaising with an NIC Advisory committee and NAEDP designated lead;

 Assessing potential locations and providing a recommendation to the Advisory Committee on the physical location of the NIC;

 If required, negotiate lease terms with landlord and manage any building engineering and/or design processes;

 If required, identifying and negotiating with anchor tenants and co-work space tenants;

 If required, identifying and negotiating with external technology companies with an interest in partnership/co-location;

 Conducting a client need analysis to understand client needs in terms of physical space, programs and services both of tenants and community at large e.g. Tech & Knowledge workers and Start Up Nelson group.

 Identifying, assessing and implementing infrastructure, capital, program and service needs.

 Building agreements with anchor tenants;

 Identifying and securing partners which may include corporate partners who would be able to be a key financial contributor as well as identifying potential Federal or Provincial government partnerships to support the longevity of the NIC;

 Developing a NIC business plan and financial feasibility assessment for the next 3 years to ensure the sustainability of the NIC in the future;

 Identifying and implementing revenue streams;

 Marketing;

 Developing grant applications and reporting on grants received; and

 Ensuring that the project deliverables are met on time, within budget and at the required level of quality.

Proposals will be accepted until 4:30 pm on May 25th, 2017 and should be submitted by email to: awilkey@futures.bc.ca marked RFQA: Nelson Innovation Centre Project Manager